GenderSAFE Launch Event:
A Safer ERA:
Strengthening National Frameworks
Against Gender-Based Violence
19 March 2026, 10:00 – 13:00 CET,
CEPS Conference Room, Place du Congrès 1, 1000 Brussels
The EU-funded project GenderSAFE invites you to the launch of its national policy monitoring report on responses to gender-based violence in higher education and research.
The event will present the results of an EU-wide mapping of national frameworks addressing gender-based violence, highlight key trends and developments across Europe, and reflect on their alignment with the 2024 Zero Tolerance Code of Conduct. It is organised in close connection with the work of the ERA Forum Sub-group on Inclusive Gender Equality.
The launch brings together representatives from European and national institutions, research and higher education organisations, and wider policy stakeholders to discuss current approaches, gaps, and opportunities for strengthening coordinated responses to gender-based violence within the European Research Area (ERA).
The programme will feature a presentation of the report’s core findings and what they mean in practice for policy design, implementation and monitoring. It will also introduce the GenderSAFE Institutional Self-Assessment Tool, designed to support organisations in strengthening their internal policies and capacities, and to connect institutional measures with wider national and European frameworks.
A moderated discussion with representatives of European national authorities will focus on lessons learned from implementation, emerging challenges, and where joint EU-level action can add the most value. The exchange will also consider how evidence from policy monitoring can inform the ERA’s ongoing work, encourage mutual learning between Member States, and support the development of more effective, accountable and sustainable zero-tolerance approaches.
The event aims to recognise recent advances, foster dialogue between policy and practice communities, and support concrete next steps towards safer, more equitable research and higher education environments across Europe, at a time when progress on gender-based violence is shaped by both new opportunities and a more contested environment for equality, diversity and inclusion policies.
Programme
| 10:00 | Opening |
| Maria Pilar Aguar Fernandez, Director of Directorate D People: Health & Society, European Commission (TBC) | |
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| 10:15 | ERA policy agenda and member state actions to combat gender-based violence |
| Marcela Linková, ERA Forum sub-group member state co-chair | |
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| 10:25 | GenderSAFE’s policy mapping |
| Anastasija Bogoslavets, ISAS | |
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| 10:45 | Audience engagement |
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| 10:50 | GenderSAFE’s institutional self-assessment tool |
| Lut Mergaert, Yellow Window | |
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| 11:00 | Audience engagement |
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| 11:05 | Round table discussion |
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| 12:05 | Going forward in the ERA |
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| 12:15 | Networking session and lunch |
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| 13:00 | Close of the event |
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The event is moderated by Marta Dell’Aquila (CEPS).
